Azury's Curse
by Morbane
Summary: Fic for Miss Black Dragon. :) Shiver and her trainer Gina encounter a very odd trainer, who is DEFINITELY something else. A quest follows.
1. There's Something About Azury

Dedication: This fic is for Miss Black Dragon or NightSong. [Userid = 45696]. She is a very cool friend of mine, also a kick-ass author, who had a birthday almost a month ago, on March 25th. This is a story for her! Hope it's as good as she deserves - probably not. ;) 

Disclaimer: Pokémon is copyrighted by Nintendo, Game Freak, Warner Bros, and Wizards of the Coast. I in no way claim rights to Pokémon; this fic is a non-money-making venture for free distribution on the Web. 

Note: Speech-as-people-hear-it is in normal quotation marks. Translated Pokéspeech is like "[this,]" and thoughts, or body language, are like _this_. 

A_zury's_ C_urse_

1: There's Something About Azury

If it had been sunny, my trainer Gina would have been happy. If we had been walking through a scenic area, she would have been happy. But today it was both, so she was grinning, skipping, and singing - songs that she broke off in the middle of, or repeated the chorus of, because she couldn't remember the words. She is very demonstrative.

She stopped singing one song and started on another. Then paused to twitch a few strands of blonde hair out of her mouth. Then she smiled down at me. "Nice, isn't it, Shiver?" she asked, enthusiastically.

"Sell," I said. I nodded. Sneasel are not very demonstrative. 

But, though I don't mind it when the temperature drops, I do mind too much humidity. And I like pretty forests too. So I did think it was 'nice'. 

"Hey, cute guy ahead!" Gina said with sudden interest.

I looked up, expecting to be entertained.

Gina had spotted a teenager with blue hair who was sitting under a tree, eating lunch. He was far away enough not to hear us, I thought, but I should have smelt him by now. As we walked closer, I lifted my nose up, and sniffed.

The boy must definitely be a trainer, because water-Pokémon-smell was mixed up in his faint scent. Good. Gina would be pleased. She would probably end up talking the guy into travelling with us - if not very far, then at least to the Cyan Town Catacombs. That was where we were headed. Gina wanted a ghost on her team. 

She was hoping for a Haunter. I thought it was more likely we'd find a Gastly. Besides, we might have problems with Haunters. In my experience, they held incredible grudges. 

Gina glanced at me as we walked closer, then called out, "Hello!" The boy looked up. Okay, so maybe he was cute. By human standards, anyway. Melting brown eyes, that kind of thing. His blue hair was pretty. It was sleek, and in the shades of a tropical sea.

"Hi," he said, sounding friendly enough.

"I'm Gina! Are you a trainer?" Gina called. 

The boy hesitated. "In a way..."

I was puzzled. I sniffed again. And barked out in surprise. 

I'd never smelled anything like him before. He didn't smell human. He smelt like a Vaporeon - and like a human too - and the two scents were mixed up together. "[What are you??]" I asked him in my language, kind of expecting him to understand. 

The boy looked at me in alarm. _Don't tell!_ his expression said. 

I was terribly confused. This boy was some odd creature, with a totally alien, strange, scary scent - but his scent also told me that I could trust him. I didn't know why. I just knew it did. 

Gina was looking at me, totally confused. "Shiver..?" she said. 

I hesitated, and then answered her, "[Don't worry, it's nothing.]" She's not very good with Pokémon language. But she recognised the tone, and nodded. 

"Uh - hi," the boy said again, glancing warily with me. "I'm Azury. Sorry - I don't usually get along with Ice types..." He glanced at me again. 

__

Liar, I thought, but again I didn't warn Gina. I just glared. And felt confused. 


	2. Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

The dedication, disclaimer, and author's notes can all be found in the first chapter. Especially, read the dedication. ;)

A_zury's_ C_urse_

2: Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

"Azury," said Gina. "That's such a pretty name you have." 

"Thanks," said Azury. "It just means Little Blue." 

Azury and Gina were getting on pretty well. Azury was asking Gina lots of questions, and Gina likes that. Plus, Azury was handsome. The two humans - well, if Azury was really human - were swapping bits of their lunches. 

"What did you mean when you said you were a trainer 'in a way'?" Gina got in another question of her own. 

Azury's eyes re-focussed to a point over her shoulder. "Well... my Pokémon were stolen a few days ago." 

"Oh no!" Gina exclaimed. "Did you report it to Officer Jenny?"

"Yes," said Azury. "There weren't any clues." 

"Was it Team Rocket?" 

For a moment, Azury froze. He looked really confused. Then his face cleared. "I suppose," he said. "But no one knows. It could have been any thief." His face took on an _I-don't-want-to-answer-any-more-questions-about-this_ look. 

Gina respected it. 

__

Don't! I thought. _Don't believe him! He's bluffing! He's lying! _ I stared at Azury. 

And at the same time, I wanted to hug him, chirp in Sneasel-fashion at him, and comb his hair. Yuck. And yet. 

__

What's wrong with me? More to the point, what's wrong with him?

Gina asked him what he was doing out here in the forests between Pearl Rift and Cyan Town, without any Pokémon. A good question, I thought.

"I thought," Azury said, "that maybe I would meet a trainer who would lend me a Pokémon to help me catch one, and then I could start building up a team again." Gina frowned, trying to follow this, and then she beamed. 

"What a wonderful idea!" she said happily. "That's so sensible! Why don't you come with us to the Cyan Catacombs? My Pokémon and I are heading that way. It's not far - just northwest of Stone Town. About halfway between Vermilion and Fuschia. You can use one of my Pokémon when we get there."

"Oh - right - Cyan," Azury said, nodding uncertainly. "Okay. That's very kind of you." He smiled warmly at her. She went dreamy-eyed, then caught herself. I sighed in relief. Good girl, Gina. This was going to be a very long walk.

Okay, so it was.

Gina was leading the way, so I ran ahead to scout for her. That gave me an excuse to stay away from Azury. Then I hurried back, loathe to leave Azury and Gina alone together. It seemed dangerous for Gina. I _like_ Gina. She's very bubbly, but she's also very practical. 

Her hair is a bit over her shoulders. She puts a tie on it near the ends, towards her right shoulder. Azury had his hand up, pushing aside some overhanging ivy, and nearly touched Gina's hair. I snarled at him. 

The second odd thing about him - not that the first wasn't bizarre enough - was the way he walked. He sort of slid his feet along the ground, as if he were skating. It mostly worked. He kept stumbling, though. He hunched over a bit. He held one arm up and the other one oddly bent behind him. He frowned. If I hadn't been so suspicious of him, I might have felt sorry for him. 

I was sure of one thing. _I _wasn't going to help Azury capture a new Pokémon. And another thing. If Gina fell in love with this Azury, she was doomed. I didn't want it to happen. 

Thanks to…

Miss Black Dragon: I'm glad you like how I've started, because this chapter seems to me like a continuation of the start. Oh well, it'll get more exciting soon. Heheh. You'll understand the chapter title - next chapter. 


	3. Sheep in Wolf's Clothing

The dedication, disclaimer, and author's notes can all be found in the first chapter. Especially, read the dedication. ;)

A_zury's_ C_urse_

3: Sheep in Wolf's Clothing

I was further worried when Gina and Azury found a topic they could both chat happily about, and that was Pokémon biology and behaviour. They chatted this way for the rest of the afternoon as they headed south to Cyan. 

We encountered one wild Pokémon on the path; she was a Raticate, and after asking Azury if he wanted her, Gina let me beat her into retreating. I hoped we'd meet another trainer. I was grumpy. I wanted to make an opponent faint. I even kicked pebbles and tree roots, which is not a Sneasel thing to do. The trees were thick here. There were vines and jungle-like parts, and there were also patches of thick wild grass and streams. I said the scenery was pretty. Gina kept pointing things out to Azury and me. 

By the end of the afternoon, Azury was exhausted. Out of kindness to him, Gina suggested we stop earlier than we might have done. We found a good place to camp and set up. Azury curled up on the grass and fell asleep immediately. 

"Aww! That's so sweet," said Gina, grinning down at him. 

Gina took me and her other three Pokémon some ways away to train. Since I'd been walking all day, Gina didn't push me as hard. The other members of our team were a Phanpy, a Pidgeotto, and a Staryu. Gina's never been one of those trainers who go after a high capture rate. She's very selective.

When we came back, Gina returned the other three. I was annoyed at that. I could have used a second opinion on the mysterious Azury. 

I refused to return to my Pokéball and instead, curled up to sleep next to Gina, between her and Azury. I felt better that way.

I was alerted, later.

I woke up. The night was very, very dark; it was assuredly past midnight. The stars blazed pure white against endless black, and the scenery around us held that kind of blackness that is just on the edge of colour. 

I saw that Azury had moved. He stood over by a tree. He stood motionless for a moment, and then turned and moved away with a very strange walk, a kind of rocking, gliding movement that didn't seem to fit his bones. It was weird. I followed him. 

He led me down to a pool, where the stream collected for a pace. He shook himself all over, then dived in. 

I thought he was mad. Humans are very susceptible to illnesses when they are cold and wet - and he'd just soaked his clothes in the middle of the night. I was afraid he'd drown. 

I jumped in and began swimming after him.

He pulled himself up onto the other bank of the pool - and I stopped swimming towards him and looked at him in astonishment, because his clothes were _dry_. 

He looked towards me, hearing the little splashing sounds I was making to keep myself above water, and since he knew I was there, I swam over to his bank and got out of the water, which, by the way, was incredibly cold. 

A Sneasel doesn't really mind the cold. Nature designed us for it.

Azury smiled. "I'm glad you're here, Shiver," he said. "I can _finally_ explain."

"Sell," I said sternly. 

"I'm under a curse," Azury said earnestly. "I'm really a Vaporeon. I got a Haunter mad at me and he cursed me. It happened two days ago." 

I raised an eyebrow. That is a fun human gesture and I'm glad that I can do it. 

On the one paw, this would explain a lot; on the other paw, it was hard to believe. 

"Look, then," said Azury. He got on all fours. He grimaced, and tensed for a moment. Then, for a moment, shimmering, there was a Vaporeon where he had stood. A _beautiful _Vaporeon. A Vaporeon that looked at me with friendly, hopeful, imploring eyes. Then it shimmered more, and blurred, and Azury was there again, breathing hard.

"It's _hard_," he said. "It's a hard curse and I can't break it and I need your help, Shiver."

I smiled. It was such a relief to understand things. "[Okay,]" I said, fascinated. "[Tell me all the story.]"

Thanks to…

BookWorm: Ooooh no. Deadly tedium. Come to think of it, you could do _my_ homework for me, except that that would probably bore you more. Oh, well, never mind. Here's another chapter. Glad you like it! I'm having fun with this. 


End file.
